The Truth

The fight was over. The soldiers took care of their wounds while Rayshel nd Dae had engaged in a discussion with Adam. He had taken a seat next to a tree and the wounds he had sustained were still there and they were bad. He didn’t have long anymore. Despite that Dae, with no care for his master’s health, pushed for answers.

‘So, Adam, what is going on here?’

‘Can’t you wait for me to catch my breath, Dae?’

‘No, because if I wait that long, you’ll already be dead! So—’ Rayshel hugged him from behind.

‘Damn, that was so fun. And will you do what your master said? Will you marry me?’ Dae fought Rayshel off and hissed at her to keep her distance. This didn’t stop Rayshel from talking:

‘You didn’t say no, hahahah!’ Dae turned to her, clearly annoyed.

‘Rayshel, now is not the time! But if you want to hear an answer, then the answer is—’

‘Dae, I’ll be dead before you get your answer!’ Adam interrupted, drawing Dae’s attention.
‘Look, I’m sure back then when we fought, you also noticed that we—The Legends—were behaving weird. Damn we were not ourselves back then. The lust to kill and all that. Now that I’m about to die, my head feels clearer than ever. Back then, when I met the Legends on the field, we were ambushed. You surely remember that one person who survived and told everyone we had killed our soldiers. That was a lie. That one survivor had killed everyone. He was a dark priest—’

‘A dark priest?’ Dae repeated.

‘Yes. There’s no time to explain everything now. Back then he did some experiments on us. Well, they failed, and we became like that. To be more precise, we were possessed by a darkborn. These dark humans you fought—they're called ghouls—were also possessed. In my case, it was a little bit different. They were trying to create people who would be immune—people who wouldn’t turn into ghouls. As far as I know, they need people like that as sacrifices to open the gate. The gate to the Darkborn World.

While our body is possessed, our soul is taken to the Darkborn World. That’s why I can tell you, we’re just the beginning. If they manage to assemble enough immune people to open the gate, chaos will break loose on Earth. And trust me, you’re not ready to face what I saw ther—’ He spat blood and dropped to his hands, gasping for air.

‘Dae—and Dae’s wife!’

‘She is not my wife!’ Dae snapped.

‘Not yet! You forgot the ‘not yet’!’ Rayshel added.

‘Hahahah!’ Adam laughed. ‘That’s how a fresh couple should look. Well, youngster, listen. You must find people who are immune. They might not have transformed into ghouls, but they certainly possess the power of a darkborn. They’ll be a great help against the dark priest—or against the light priests, if it comes to that. There are two ways to make it through this damn situation. You can hide and wait until the crimson moon vanishes—but then you might wait forever. And worst case, before the moon returns to normal, the dark priests will have already found enough immune ones

The other way is to destroy the altar where people were sacrificed to drench the moon in blood. I think there’s more than one. I don’t know anymore... And Dae—’ He clutched his arm and struggled back to his feet. When Dae and Rayshel moved to help him, Adam raised one hand.

‘It’s okay. I got it. Dae, it’s a lot to digest, but I know a quicker way.’ He opened his fist and placed his palm on Dae’s chest, mumbling something that resembled a spell. The ground beneath him began to glow, and a violet circle formed beneath his feet. Suddenly, Adam’s memories rushed into Dae. Image after image flashed through his mind—along with the emotions and pain Adam had experienced. Considering that he had been in the Darkborn World, the pain he had sustained was far from mild. All of it hit Dae like a shock, and before he knew it, he blacked out. Rayshel caught his falling body and looked over at Adam, whose eyes were losing their glow.

‘Ma’am, take care of him. He always puts on a strong front, tries to act tough, but I know he needs a woman by his side. A partner. Someone like him. And tell him I healed his wounds too—a trick I learned during my time in the Darkborn World.’

‘And what will you do know, mister?’

‘It’s time for me to go! Damn, I have enough of killing, wars and deaths!’ He glanced around the forest, his eyes halting on every fallen soldiers and his face gradually lost its light. ‘I am happy that I can go now because shit is just about to start. Young pretty woman I can feel something from you I felt once about another person!’ His glance turned intense. ‘That man said that he saw the truth about the world, about life. And only those who know the truth can do something to stop what lays behind it. So, tell me woman, can you see the truth?’ Rayshel gulped and for the first time since a long time she seemed at loss for words. There was no smile on her face.

‘I have visions sometimes!’, she started. ‘But I don’t know what this means. ‘And when I was little I told me people about the visions. However, each one of them died in the weirdest way–’

‘But they never died when they were around you, right?’ Adam’s body strted crumbling, starting from his fingers. Cracks appeared in his face and his hair turned to smoke.

‘How did you know that? Who is that man? And–‘

‘Sadly we don’t have the time for that! All I can say is, trust these visions, don’t close them away for the truth is not allowed to be seen by everyone. And when the times comes you understand the truth showed to you in your vision, I am sure you will meet him!’

With a big smile, he left this world. His body crumbled and vanished into thin air.

Elsewhere
Emilia hugged Sarah, who accepted without resistance. Meanwhile, Rick and Nade exchanged a nod before following the path to the end. They turned right at the intersection and resumed their jog. To reach the basement—and the elevator that would take them up—the group had to get past the cafeteria. The door was slightly open, revealing countless ghouls having their snacks. Rick began his report:

‘I counted at least ten ghouls. That number shouldn’t pose a big problem as long as—’ He glanced at Nade, who immediately nodded and said:

‘I can take care of myself. Worry about Sarah!’ Emilia and Rick exchanged glances—glances Sarah noticed immediately.

‘I told him he could call me that. We went through some shit. So yeah, it can happen! Doesn’t have to mean anything.’ Rick coughed, covering his mouth with one arm. Emilia said nothing. Bum, bum... They looked over their shoulders. What they saw was anything but pleasant. That animal had once been a tiger—but not just any tiger. It was one of the biggest ever seen. Now infected, it had grown even larger—its fangs too. The tiger was black with violet stripes, and instead of four legs, it now had six. Nade stepped in front of the group. Cold mist emerged from his body as he said with a weakened voice:

‘I’m not sure I can take that thing down in my current state—but I can buy you time. Use that to kill the ghouls inside. If I’m still alive by then, we’ll beat that monster together!’ Indeed, Rick and Emilia were confused—but there was no time for hesitation. Sarah took the lead.

‘Let’s go!’